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Hadi bin Nizar
Abu Ali Hassan, or Ali, surnamed al-Hadi (the calm) was born in Cairo in 1076. He was the first hidden Imam of Alamut. He was about 17 years old on the eve of the death of Imam al-Mustansir, and 20 years during assumption of Imamate in 1097. Henceforward, the seat of Imamate transferred from Egypt to Persia owing to the bifurcation among the Ismailis, where Hassan-i Sabbah had founded the Nizarid Ismaili state in the fortress of Alamut. History Imam al-Nizar is reported to have been killed in Cairo, most probably while imprisoned in 1097. After his death, there appeared no Nizari Ismaili opposition in Egypt. Certain influences of the Nizari Ismailis however have been known in Egypt, whom according to Tarikh-i Misrby Ibn Muyassar, Hassan-i Sabbah is said to have sent material aids in 1123-4. It is reported that al-Afdal closed the Dar al-Hikmah (house of judgment) where he found many professions supporting the cause of Imam al-Nizar. Hafiz Abru (d. 1430) writes in his Majma al-Tawarikh-i Sultaniyya (p. 242) that, "Only one of al-Nizar's sons was arrested with him, and the other son disappeared in Alexandria, who was neither arrested nor recognized." This seems an erroneous account, as the arrested sons were Abu Abdullah al-Hassan and Abu Abdullah al-Hussain, who were prominent faces in the Fatimid court. The third son under shadow was Ali al-Hadi, who had managed to escape from Alexandria. Ibn Zafir (d. 1216) writes in Akhbar ad-Dawla al-Munqatia (pp. 97-111) that the two sons of Imam al-Nizar rebelled in turn after escaping from prison. Abu Abdullah al-Hassan rebelled against al-Hafiz (1131-1149) in 1133, while Abu Abdullah al-Hussain rose against al-Adid (1160-1171) in 1161, assuming the title of al-Muntasir billah. These rebellions ultimately were suppressed because of mustering handful supporters, but it most possibly forced the Fatimid authority to focus their attention upon the handful followers of Imam al-Nizar in Egypt, resulting Imam al-Nizar's third son, al-Hadi to escape from their investigation. It appears from the historical report that Imam al-Nizar had managed to send away his son and successor al-Hadi in Maghrib before his submission through his most confident follower, named Abu'l Hassan as-Sa'idi. It is almost certain that they boarded a vessel from Alexandria for Meila, and after crossing Mount Bouiblan and Muluya river, they reached Rissani, near Erfoud and stayed in the house of Imam al-Nizar's aunt in Sijilmasa. Ali bin Yousuf (1087-1106), the Almoravid ruler had captured Sijilmasa in 1056 and dominated it when Imam al-Hadi had been there. The narrative of Kitab al-Akhbar wa'l Athar by Muhammad Abu'l Makrem is probably inaccurate. It recounts that the escaping Imam from Alexandria was Imam al-Nizar himself, who came in Sijilmasa, and then made his way to the castle of Alamut. It is most probably false, as it does not occur in any well-established sources. Ibn Khallikan, Ibn Athir, Ibn Khaldun and Makrizi are the accredited authorities on Fatimid history, and they also admit that Imam al-Nizar was taken prisoner to Cairo, and was killed in the prison. De Lacy O'Leary had investigated the primary sources and writes in The Short History of the Fatimid Khilafat (London, 1923, p. 212) that, "Nizar's subsequent life is totally unknown. He was either imprisoned in absolute secrecy, or put to death: stories were told of both these ends, but nothing was ever known for certain." It seems that the entire matter was over in the beginning of 1096, because al-Musta'li had intimated the whole story to the governors of his realm through a letter dated February, 1096. Granted for a while that Imam al-Nizar had escaped from Alexandria, then it is possible that al-Afdal had not returned to Cairo and had made an intensive search. Besides, Imam's most confident supporter, Iftigin also accompanied him, had Imam al-Nizar made his secret way out of Alexandria. It is therefore, not possible to value the doubtful version of Muhammad Abu'l Makrem. The Nizari Ismaili influence also penetrated in the Maghrib, and we are told that some of the followers of Imam al-Nizar in Berber tribe had engineered revolts against the later Fatimid rulers from their base in the Maghrib, which was not in the Fatimid control since 1050. Alamut It seems probable that Abu'l Hassan as-Sa'idi had moved from Sijilmasa with Imam al-Hadi after the death of al-Musta'li in 1095. After a long and tedious journey, they alighted in the vicinity of Rudhbar, the chief city of Daylam in Persia after crossing the ranges of Mount Taliqan. Since Alamut was immured and stormed by the Seljuqs at that time, Imam al-Hadi had to conceal himself either in the villages of Rudhbar, or in some remote place. He was taken to the vicinity of Alamut after restoration of peace, which was only known to Hassan-i Sabbah and none else. He caused Imam's dwelling in a village at the foot of Alamut. Abu'l Hassan as-Sa'idi is said to have stayed about six months, and then he returned to Egypt. Imam al-Hadi finally made his footing in the castle of Lamasar after the death of Hassan-i Sabbah in 1124. The period under review denotes the second dawr-i satr (period of concealment) of the Ismaili history (1097-1164), wherein three Imams lived in concealment during about 70 years, viz. Imam al-Hadi, Imam al-Mohtadi and Imam al-Kahir. During the period of satr, the Ismaili ''hujjats''governed the Nizari state, viz. Hassan-i Sabbah, Kiya Buzrug Ummid and Muhammad bin Kiya. The tradition widely famous about Imam al-Hadi's arrival in Persia consists of very meager details, which is cited in the later sources, namely Dabistan al-Mazahib (comp. in 1653), Janat al-Amal (comp. in 1886), Athar-i Muhammadi (comp. in 1893) etc. It reads: - "It is recounted by the Ismailis of Rudhbar and Kohistan that during the time of Hassan-i Sabbah, Abu'l Hassan as-Sa'idi, one of the confident persons, came in Alamut and brought a son of al-Nizar bin al-Mustansir, who was a legitimate Imam. Nobody except Hassan-i Sabbah knew about this secrecy. Hassan-i Sabbah treated Abu'l Hassan as-Sa'idi with honor and consideration and caused the Imam to dwell in a village at the foot of Alamut. Abu'l Hassan as-Sa'idi was allowed to return back after six months. Imam remained engaged in divine worship in seclusion, and then betrothed to a woman in that village, who bore a son, named al-Mohtadi." It ensues that the story of about 10 years has been summed up in one tradition. Imam al-Hadi was brought from Maghrib through the routes of Egypt, while the tradition simply indicates his arrival from Egypt to Persia. Secondly, it admits that this tradition was widely known among the Ismailis of Rudhbar and Kohistan, which must have been famous possibly long after the departure of Imam al-Hadi from those places. Thirdly, Hassan-i Sabbah caused the living of Imam al-Hadi at the foot of Alamut, which was only known to him, gives further clue to understand that the existence of the Imam around Alamut was also kept secret. Fourthly, it speaks Imam's marriage in that village and the birth of his son. It transpires that Imam al-Hadi would have been in the village till 1106 when his son al-Mohtadi was born. Fifthly, Ata Malik Juvaini (p. 682) has quoted the last will of Hassan-i Sabbah, whose concluding lines run: - "And he charged, until such time as the Imam came to take possession of his kingdom." It further indicates that Imam al-Hadi was yet in the vicinity of Alamut when Hassan-i Sabbah died in 1124. These narratives seem to show that Imam al-Hadi had come in the castle after 1124. He must have inspected the administrative fabric and the Ismaili mission from Kiya Buzrug, and then had gone to live in the castle of Lamasar most probably after 1132. Another story relates that the Imam that was brought from Egypt to Alamut was al-Mohtadi, the grandson of Imam al-Nizar. This story seems to have been prevalent in the orbits, who believed that Imam al-Nizar had only two sons and were imprisoned with him. It has been heretofore discussed that the whereabouts of Imam al-Hadi had not been exposed in Cairo, and instead, the two other sons of Imam al-Nizar were made familiar figures. These sons had been also taken prisoners in Alexandria, which was enough for their opponents to cultivate a report that "all the sons of al-Nizar" were arrested. The age of Imam al-Hadi was about 16-17 years during the ascension of Imam al-Nizar, and those who definitely knew him, had spoken of him as the minor son of Imam al-Nizar, which was a term continued to be employed for Imam al-Hadi till his arrival in Alamut after 1124 when he was about 50 years old. On that juncture, the scholars seem to have drawn an opinion that the arriving minor son of Imam al-Nizar in Alamut should have been the son of Imam al-Hadi, who was also 17-18 years old at that time. The theory of minor son thus became specific for Imam al-Mohtadi, making him born in Egypt too. According to which the marriage of Imam al-Hadi was actualized in the village at the foot of Alamut, and his son al-Mohtadi was the first Nizari Imam to be born in Persia. The major part of the life of Imam al-Hadi passed in the shadow of the striking personalities of Hassan-i Sabbah and Kiya Buzrug Ummid. Abu Muhammad al-Iraqi in his al-Firaq (Ms. 791 in the library of Sulemaniyya mosque, Istanbul) compiled soon after the fall of Alamut in 1256, and Zakariya Qazwini (1203-1283) in Athar al-Bilad wa-Akhbar al-Ibad (History and News of the Land) (comp. in 1263) admit the very presence of Imam al-Hadi in Alamut. The Egyptian historian Ibn Muyassar (1231-1278) writes in Tarikh-i Misr (History of Egypt) (p. 68) that, "Hassan-i Sabbah introduced an Imam to his successors during his death-bed." Imam al-Hadi continued to guide his followers in the spiritual matters through Kiya Buzrug from Lamasar without making public appearance. The fragments of the traditions inform nothing for him. It is however sparsely recorded that there had been an open ground inside the castle of Lamasar, where he used to take interest in horses. It is also said that Imam al-Hadi used to visit several times in the vicinity of Lamasar at night in seclusion and distributed foods and clothes to the poor villagers. Death Imam al-Hadi died in 1136 at the age of 60 years, after bequeathing the office of the Imamate to his son, al-Mohtadi, when Kiya Buzrug was governing the Ismaili state in Alamut.